Food preservative composition

ABSTRACT

This invention resides in a composition for treatment of meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables to maintain the color and to preserve same. The composition comprises as essential constituents between about 10 and 40% each of the following materials: 
     (1) ascorbic acid and/or the sodium or potassium salts thereof; 
     (2) citric acid and/or the sodium or potassium salts thereof; 
     (3) sodium or potassium carbonate; and 
     (4) sulfite, bisulfite or metabisulfite of sodium or potassium. 
     These materials represent a synergistic combination which preserves the color and freshness of these products for a surprisingly long period of time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation-In-Part of copending application Ser.No. 376,414, filed May 10, 1982, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,909.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a process and composition for treating edibleproducts to maintain color and also to preserve the freshness thereof,for example, fish, meat, meat products and fruits and vegetables.

It is highly desirable to preserve the freshness and color of edibleproducts. For example, myoglobin, hemoglobin and other like compoundsfound in meat are commonly believed to be responsible for the red andred-purple color of fresh meat. Upon exposure to air these compounds areoxidized to oxymyoglobin and oxyhemoglobin which are bright red incolor. Exposure to air over prolonged periods results in furtheroxidation to metmyoglobin and methemoglobin which are brown or grey incolor and which detract from the appearance and saleability of the meat.

Conventional meat color preserving agents are known, such as ascorbicacid and/or nicotinic acid, which function by reacting with themyoglobin and hemoglobin either before or after they are oxidized toform a color which is relatively stable over longer periods of time.However, continued exposure to the air will cause a further oxidationreaction with a resultant undesirable change in the color of the meatproduct to brown or grey.

At the same time, it is well known that fresh meat products aresusceptible to spoilage on storage. In order to keep fresh meat productsfrom rapid spoilage, it is customary to keep them refrigerated so thatthe rate of bacterial growth is retarded.

It is naturally desirable to provide a composition which is effective tostill further retard bacterial growth and maintain the freshness ofedible products.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention toprovide a composition which effectively treats edible products tomaintain a desirable color.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compositionas aforesaid which retards bacterial growth and maintains freshness.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide acomposition which is inexpensive, easy to apply and which is based onmaterials which may be safely used in edible products.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear fromthe ensuing discussion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, it has been found that thecomposition of the present invention effectively achieves the foregoingobjects and advantages in a simple, convenient and expeditious manner.

The composition of the present invention effectively treats edibleproducts to maintain the desirable color thereof, to maintain freshnessand to retard bacterial growth. The composition consists essentially of10 to 40% of each of the following components:

(a) a material selected from the group consisting of ascorbic acid, thesodium and potassium salts thereof and mixtures thereof;

(b) a material selected from the group consisting of citric acid, thesodium and potassium salts thereof and mixtures thereof;

(c) a material selected from the group consisting of sodium carbonate,potassium carbonate and mixtures thereof; and

(d) a material selected from the group consisting of sodium andpotassium sulfite, bisulfite and metabisulfite and mixtures thereof.

In accordance with the present invention a composition as aforesaid isapplied to the edible product in an effective amount and is preferablyapplied to the product in an amount of from 1/4 ounce to 2 pounds perhundred pounds of product being treated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The composition of the present invention may be effectively used inpreserving the color and freshness of fresh meats and meat products andfinds its greatest utility in this application; however, its use is notlimited thereto and it may also be used to treat aged and cured meats,fish, fruits and vegetables. In accordance with the present invention,the product to be treated, such as cuts of meat or whole carcasses, maybe treated by dusting the exposed surfaces with the composition of thepresent invention or by spraying the surfaces with a solution thereof.For carcasses, treatment may be accomplished by injecting a solution ofthe composition of the present invention into the arteries and veins.For ground meat, the treating materials may be applied to the exposedsurface of the ground meat or added to the meat before or duringgrinding to permit distribution thereof throughout the ground mass. Itis preferred in accordance with the present invention that thecomponents thereof be thoroughly mixed together before application tothe product.

In accordance with the present invention, the ascorbic acid componentmay be ascorbic acid itself and/or the sodium and/or potassium saltsthereof. Similarly, the citric acid component may be the citric aciditself and/or the sodium and/or potassium salts thereof, i.e., sodium orpotassium citrate.

Either sodium and/or potassium carbonate may be employed. The sulfitecomponent may be a sulfite, bisulfite and/or metabisulfite of sodiumand/or potassium.

The amounts of the components of the present invention are as statedhereinabove. Preferably, substantially equal quantities of each of thecomponents are employed.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, asuitable quantity of ground meat is first ground and mixed with asuitable quantity of the composition of the present invention and themixture reground. In accordance with an alternate embodiment for redmeats, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables, a suitable quantity of thecomposition of the present invention is dissolved in water and theedible meat product sprayed with the aqueous solution. Naturally,alternate methods of application of the composition of the presentinvention may be readily employed.

Naturally, additional freshness or color preservatives may, if desired,be added to the product such as nitrates or nitrites, phosphates,nicotinic acid or other known color or freshness preservatives. Thesurprising feature of the composition of the present invention is thesynergistic combination of the components thereof which effectivelypreserves color and freshness and retards bacterial growth for aninordinately long period of time far beyond what would normally beanticipated.

The foregoing will be more clearly apparent from the examples which forma part of the present specification.

EXAMPLE I

A composition of the present invention was formulated by mixing togetherequal amounts of sodium bisulfite, ascorbic acid, citric acid and sodiumcarbonate. Fifty pounds of fresh red hamburger was first ground and thenthoroughly mixed with two ounces of the foregoing mixture. The mixturewas then reground and stored in a refrigerated condition at atemperature of approximately 35° F. The resultant meat retained itsbright red color and freshness for approximately two weeks. Untreatedmeat darkened after about one week and at the end of the two week periodwas quite dark and no longer fresh.

EXAMPLE II

Two ounces of the composition of Example I were thoroughly dissolved intwo quarts of water. The composition was sprayed on various samples ofpoultry and red meats. The resultant sprayed samples were stored in arefrigerated condition as in Example I and maintained their color andfreshness for approximately two weeks. Comparable materials lost theircolor after about one week and were no longer fresh after the two weekperiod.

EXAMPLE III

A piece of veal which had started to discolor was tested in a variety ofways. Firstly, a portion of this material was treated with two ounces ofa composition containing equal amounts of ascorbic acid, citric acid andsodium carbonate. The material was stored in the refrigerated conditionat about 35° F. After about three days, the material showed clear signsof decay. Another portion of this material was treated with two ouncesof sodium bisulfite only under the same conditions and showed clearsigns of decay after five days. A third sample was treated with twoounces of the composition of Example I as aforesaid. The material showedno signs of decay after two weeks of storage.

EXAMPLE IV

A variety of experiments were conducted with a variety of compositionson beef which had been previously stored to the point where the meat wasstarting to discolor.

Composition A was 1/10 of an ounce each of ascorbic acid, citric acidand sodium bisulfite. The material thus treated showed clear signs ofdecay after five days' storage in the refrigerated condition atapproximately 35° F.

Composition B represented 1/10 of an ounce each of ascorbic acid andsodium bisulfite. The treatment conditions were the same as above andthe material showed clear signs of decay after three days' storage.

Composition D represented 1/10 of an ounce of sodium carbonate. The meatshowed clear signs of decay after three days' storage.

Composition E represented 1/10 of an ounce each of sodium carbonate,ascorbic acid and citric acid. The material showed clear signs of decayafter five days.

Composition F represented the composition of the present invention with1/10 of an ounce each of sodium bisulfite, citric acid, ascorbic acidand sodium carbonate. The material showed no signs of decay after twoweeks' storage.

EXAMPLE V

Example I was substantially repeated using potassium bisulfite,potassium carbonate, potassium citrate and potassium ascorbate. The sameexcellent results were obtained as in Example I.

EXAMPLE VI

In this example, eleven individual packages of beef were prepared, cutinto approximately 1" cubes. The beef had previously been stored for aperiod of 7 days. Each cube was treated with one-tenth ounce of thecomposition of the present invention containing equal amounts ofascorbic acid, citric acid, sodium carbonate and sodium bisulfite. Dailyan unopen package was removed, ground under sterile conditions withsterile phosphate buffer, serially diluted and tested for aerobic platecount and coliform count. All samples were held under refrigeratedconditions at approximately 35° F. during the course of the study. Inaccordance with this study, a bacterial population of below 1,000,000per milliliter is the generally recommended standard for beef. Theresults are shown in the following table.

                                      TABLE I                                     __________________________________________________________________________                          Aerobic                                                                              Coliform                                         Day       Color   Odor                                                                              Count 35° F.                                                                  Contamination                                    __________________________________________________________________________    1 -                                                                              Initial Count                                                                        Good    Good                                                                              220,000                                                                              <1                                               2 -                                                                               24 hr. Count                                                                        Good    Good                                                                              240,000                                                                               9                                               3 -                                                                               48 hr. Count                                                                        Good    Good                                                                              240,000                                                                               4                                               4 -                                                                               72 hr. Count                                                                        Turning Brown                                                                         Good                                                                              260,000                                                                               4                                               5 -                                                                               96 hr. Count                                                                        Turning Brown                                                                         Good                                                                              250,000                                                                              <1                                               6 -                                                                              120 hr. Count                                                                        Turning Brown                                                                         Good                                                                              280,000                                                                              <1                                               7 -                                                                              144 hr. Count                                                                        Brownish Red                                                                          Good                                                                              12,000,000                                                                           <1                                               8 -                                                                              168 hr. Count                                                                        Brownish Red                                                                          Good                                                                              16,000,000                                                                           <1                                               9 -                                                                              192 hr. Count                                                                        Brownish Red                                                                          Good                                                                              20,000,000                                                                           <1                                               10 -                                                                             216 hr. Count                                                                        Brownish Red                                                                          Good                                                                              150,000                                                                              <1                                               11 -                                                                             240 hr. Count                                                                        Brownish Red                                                                          Good                                                                              600,000                                                                              <1                                               __________________________________________________________________________

The results of the study clearly showed that the preservative maintainedthe bacterial population well below the 1,000,000 count per millilitergenerally recommended as a standard for beef for the first six days ofthe study. This was supported by organalyptic testing. After five daysthe counts increased markedly to the tenth day. Coliform counts did notseem a factor. Spurious coliform counts on the second, third and fourthdays were believed to have resulted from contamination during thepackaging of the samples. On the tenth and eleventh days, the countsagain dropped so that the particular packages in question may havereceived more of the preservatives.

The foregoing data clearly shows that the composition of the presentinvention is capable of maintaining acceptable bacterial counts for atleast six days and possibly longer even after the meat has beenpreviously stored for an extended period of time when the meat is heldat normal refrigeration temperatures.

EXAMPLE VII

Several compositions were formulated having the following bases:

    ______________________________________                                        Composition I.                                                                              Sodium Bisulfite                                                                            Equal Parts                                                     Sodium Carbonate                                                              Ascorbic Acid                                                   Composition II.                                                                             Sodium Bisulfite                                                                            Equal Parts                                                     Sodium Carbonate                                                              Citric Acid                                                     Composition III.                                                                            Sodium Bisulfite                                                                            Equal Parts                                                     Sodium Carbonate                                                              Citric Acid                                                                   Ascorbic Acid                                                   Composition IV.                                                                             Sodium Bisulfite                                                                            85%                                                             Sodium Carbonate                                                                            10%                                                             Citric Acid    5%                                               Composition V.                                                                              Sodium Bisulfite                                                                            85%                                                             Sodium Carbonate                                                                            10%                                                             Citric Acid   21/2%                                                           Ascorbic Acid 21/2%                                             ______________________________________                                    

A variety of experiments were conducted with beef. All experiments wereconducted on the same piece of beef. The samples were cut into equalquantities and two ounces of each of the compositions were used to treateach portion of meat. All portions of meat were stored under identicalrefrigerated conditions and the condition of each portion evaluateddaily for a period of sixteen days. The results are shown in thefollowing table.

                  TABLE II                                                        ______________________________________                                        Color of Meat Treated With Formula                                            Day  I         II        III   IV      V                                      ______________________________________                                        1    Good      Good      Good  Good    Good                                   2    Good      Good      Good  Good    Good                                   3    Good      Brown     Good  Good    Good                                   4    Brown     Dark Brown                                                                              Good  Good    Good                                   5    Dark      Decayed   Good  Brown   Good                                        Brown                                                                    6    Decayed             Good  Dark    Good                                                                  Brown                                          7                        Good  Decayed Brown                                  8                        Good          Dark                                                                          Brown                                  9                        Good          Decayed                                10                       Good                                                 11                       Good                                                 12                       Good                                                 13                       Good                                                 14                       Good                                                 15                       Good                                                 16                       Good                                                 ______________________________________                                    

Sample III is the composition of the present invention. It can be seenthat the meat treated with the composition of the present inventionretained its good color characteristics for the full sixteen days of thetest.

The meat treated with Sample I, sodium bisulfite, sodium carbonate andascorbic acid only, retained its good color for only three days. On thefourth day it was brown, the fifth day it was dark brown and on thesixth day it had decayed.

The meat treated with Formula II, the formula without ascorbic acid,retained its good color for only two days. The meat turned brown on thethird day, on the fourth day it turned dark brown and on the fifth dayit was decayed.

The meat treated with Formula IV retained its good color for four days.The meat turned brown on the fifth day, dark brown on the sixth day andhad decayed on the seventh day.

The meat treated with Formula V retained its good color for six days. Onthe seventh day it turned brown, on the eighth day it turned dark brownand on the ninth day it had decayed.

EXAMPLE VIII

A three pound piece of fresh codfish and a three pound piece of freshbluefish were cut into equal portions. A two pound portion of freshscallops was divided into equal portions.

Thirty grams of the composition of Example I was thoroughly dissolved inone quart of water. One of the portions of codfish, one of the portionsof bluefish and one of the portions of scallops were left untreated andone treated with a fine spray of the aqueous composition so that thetreated materials were thoroughly wetted.

The treated and untreated materials were stored under ambientconditions. All untreated samples were spoiled in two days. All treatedsamples maintained their freshness for 25 days under the ambientconditions of storage.

This invention may be embodied in other forms or carried out in otherways without departing from the spirit or essential characteristicsthereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered as in allrespects illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the inventionbeing indicated by the appended claims, and all changes which comewithin the meaning and range of equivalency are intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A composition for treating edible products tomaintain the desirable color thereof and to maintain freshnessconsisting essentially of from 10 to 40% of each of the followingcomponents:(a) a material selected from the group consisting of ascorbicacid, the sodium and potassium salts thereof and mixtures thereof; (b) amaterial selected from the group consisting of citric acid, the sodiumand potassium salts thereof and mixtures thereof; (c) a materialselected from the group consisting of sodium carbonate, potassiumcarbonate and mixtures thereof; and (d) a material selected from thegroup consisting of sodium and potassium sulfite, bisulfite andmetabisulfite and mixtures thereof.
 2. A composition according to claim1 wherein said components are present in substantially equal quantities.3. A composition according to claim 1 wherein said components areascorbic acid, citric acid, sodium carbonate and sodium bisulfite.
 4. Acomposition according to claim 1 wherein said composition is dissolvedin water.